


Third Time Lucky

by severesarcasm



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 16 year old harry, 18 year old louis, Fluff, Hannah is mentioned for like 0.2 seconds, M/M, Smut, i can't tag, non-au, not much smut so don't come here just for the sex, x-factor era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 22:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3913714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/severesarcasm/pseuds/severesarcasm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry didn't think that it was normal to notice how long someone's eyelashes were or how perfect their bone structure was when you had your dick out. Or at least, when you were using said dick to take a piss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Third Time Lucky

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: (do I have to do one of these I'm going to anyway) I do not own or am associated with any member of One Direction no matter how much I want to be. This is a work of fiction.  
> Any mistakes or typos are mine and I apologise in advance if there are any!

If there was one thing that he knew for certain about himself, it was that when Harry styles fell for someone, he fell hard. The first time he fell in love was when he was twelve years old and someone knocked into him while running down the hall, going too bloody fast and wasn't that just brilliant, they knocked him right off his feet. Well, he definitely fell hard then, hitting the ground with such force that it pushed the breath right out of him. So Harry lay on the ground contemplating how much his life had went to shit for those three seconds that he was suspended in the air and how the whole school was going to know him as "the boy who fell on his arse on the first day of school". But then, like an angel that has been sent from God to save Harry from his awful sense of balance and bad luck, a hand appeared in front of his face and he looked up to see his knight in shining armour. The hand, as it turned out, was attached to a boy who, _holy fucking shit looked like a fallen angel_. Harry just stared at him until the older boy caught on that he wasn't capable of movement or any actual form of communication and then he hauled Harry to his feet, all while Harry imagined he was in some sort of concussion induced dream.

"Alright mate?" said the honest-to-god-angel. Even his voice was angelic and Harry was having a _really_ hard time concentrating on using his brain right that second.

"Y-yeah, yeah great I'm good, thanks. Thank you, you're nice. Mate." As Harry stammered through his response the boy just smiled and then left Harry standing in the corridor with a pat on the head and a "Take care of yourself." thrown over his shoulder. That was the first time that Harry Styles fell in love on the spot. It was also the day that he learned he definitely liked boys so even though he never talked to the boy again and was reduced to staring at him when he walked past him at school, it wasn't a total waste of an experience. The second time Harry fell in love he was fifteen and at a Halloween party. He went to a house of his friend's friend and honestly Harry loved meeting new people, _he did_ , he just wasn't feeling up for it that night. He didn't know anyone there apart from one person and he was surrounded by strangers at the first party he'd ever been to, he was feeling a little out of his depth. Harry was also wearing a fucking Scooby-Doo costume. What the ever loving fuck was he thinking. So Harry stood awkwardly at the side of the room in his fucking dog costume and holding a beer that tasted stale and he didn't even like beer that much and yeah, Harry wanted to go home. He was pulled from his state of wallowing in self pity when someone said to him, "So, Scooby-Doo?" Harry looked up to find a boy with short hair and brown eyes and just like that Harry fell in love for the second time. Honestly, he fell in love right there and he was sure he was drooling because this boy was so fit that Harry kind of felt like a gremlin in comparison.

"Yeah, Scooby-Doo, I relate to him on a spiritual level." The boy laughed and Harry felt his cheeks heating up with embarrassment. Harry's sense of humour was selective to say the least, he was easily amused and found humour in stupid things. Needless to say, not many others related to his sense of humour so he was surprised and pleased that he'd pulled a laugh out of the guy. His name was Jack and Harry was enamoured with him, loved every single thing about him, he was witty and smart and had such a wonderful outlook on life that Harry admired. His second love was also his second boyfriend and because Harry is a walking cliche his second love and also second boyfriend only lasted to the second week. Jack wasn't out at school or to his family and Harry didn't want to be stuck in the closet, as much as he loved him, he didn't think hiding that much was worth it. Jack told him it was for the best and Harry cried on his mum's shoulder for two hours. "Are you finished crying now sweetie? I think you've exhausted yourself." His mum chuckled and stroked his hair away from his forehead.

"One hour for each week we spent together." Harry was growing quite fond of cliches.

"Oh shush now. I won't have any of that stupid talk." He looked up at his mum who was still holding him. He felt five years old again, running to his mum because of a scraped knee and demanding kisses to make it better. He didn't feel like his mum's kisses would make this better but he could admit that he had felt a lot better after having a cry and his mums reassurances being murmured in his ear. "I loved him though." His mum snorted. "Mum. I honestly did, it was a bit of whirlwind romance sure but you know me. Live in the moment and all that."

"Harry, dear, you're hopeless."

"I'm _compassionate_." His mum just hugged him that little bit tighter and smiled like she knew something he didn't. Which, he supposed all mums knew something their children didn't. Their smiles held wisdom and secrets that they would never disclose but Harry could wait until he was a parent to find out the secrets of the universe. That is, If he ever did manage to became a parent because that usually required finding someone to be the other parent and at this rate, Harry was sure he was going to die alone and his body would be eaten by his large collection of cats. "I'm going to die alone, mum." She tutted and stroked his hair some more. "There's someone for everyone, darling. You'll see." Harry hoped she was right. So given Harry's history of falling in love in record time, honestly he should be in the Guinness book of world records, he was that phenomenal. He shouldn't have been surprised that he would fall in love with a boy he met in a bathroom. A fucking bathroom of all places.

He'd just finished his GCSEs and while he had been locked up in his room slaving over his textbooks and millions of pages of notes, he'd experienced an epiphany. Harry didn't want to do that for the rest of his life, he honestly couldn't see himself working in a big fancy law firm or wearing a suit to work or the typical nine to five schedule. Sure, he loved working in the bakery but that wasn't permanent. He saw it as more of a hobby, baking bread and serving the locals and he enjoyed it, he did. It was just. He couldn't see himself working in a bakery for the rest of his life or he was sure he'd go mad. He realised what he really wanted to do was entertain people. He wanted to sing. He had never seriously considered the idea until then, had always loved singing, found joy in getting up on a stage and putting on a show. Had never actually believed he could make a career out of it though. After that he couldn't shake the notion, he started singing while he closed up the bakery in the evenings, singing while he studied or went to school, earning him a few concerned glances from other pupils. He belted out tunes in the shower and while he was making dinner, so loud that Gemma started to complain. She would either bang on the walls that separated the bathroom from her bedroom or would hit Harry with the nearest object she could find if he was singing in the kitchen. He shouldn't have underestimated her strength, rolled up newspapers can apparently bruise. Eventually his family was so sick of hearing the same Katy Perry song that Harry had been singing on repeat for three days that they snapped and asked him if he loved singing so much, why didn't he do something about it. They weren't serious, really were just fed up with hearing "I kissed a girl" for the fiftieth time in seventy two hours, but. Harry took it on board. He thought it over and turned the words around in his head that night and he thought that yeah. He should do something about it. The thing was, Harry hadn't the first clue how to go about establishing a respectable career as a singer. He didn't have any experience with instruments or any vocal training, the only experience he had was the school plays he performed in primary school and the band he was in with some lads from school. White Eskimo was just a thing Harry did in his spare time but he enjoyed it, liked being the lead singer, the centre of attention. He would never go professional with them, they weren't anywhere near a good enough standard to properly break the music industry. In Harry's mind there was only one other sure way to get a chance as a recording artist. The X-Factor. Harry was an all or nothing type of person, go big or go home. He didn't see the point of wasting chances, he saw life as one massive opportunity, he lived in the moment and did what made him happy. When he invested himself in something, he put everything he had into it plus some. When the idea of entering The X-Factor started to form in his head, he didn't really question it, didn't plan it out or worry about it, just threw himself into the process. He told his family what he wanted to do and they seemed surprised, Harry didn't blame them, all this had virtually came out of nowhere but like in every aspect of his life, they supported him and so Harry applied for The X-Factor and got the go-ahead to go to his official audition. It all went by so fast and Harry was left a little disorientated by it all, the rush, the adrenaline buzzing in his ears as he'd sang in front of all those people and the judges and what the fuck, Simon Fucking Cowell. The absolute bliss and relief of getting through though, the buzz of being told, "Yes, you're through. Yes, you can sing. Yes, we want to see more of you." It was a feeling Harry would never forget. Boot Camp was a completely different story. If Harry had thought that his audition was hectic it was nothing compared to the frenzied energy at Boot Camp. There were producers and managers, choreographers and technicians running around all over the place with head sets on and looking dazed and frantic. Harry soaked it all in revelled in the commotion, if this is the music industry then count me in, he loved it. Everyone was going places, seemed like there was always somewhere to be or something to do and the whole atmosphere was like a glimpse into a celebrity life. Harry couldn't honestly say that he was all in it for the music. I mean really, who in the music industry was? He wanted to sing, that was his main reason and he's auctioned because he wanted to know if he was good, if he stood a chance. He wanted the fame as well. Not in a "pretentious popstar" way, he wanted to make a difference, be a positive influence and yeah the good pay didn't hurt, he could help his family out a lot if he made a career out of this. Seeing how the industry worked, operated like a well piled machine was honestly one of the coolest things he had ever seen. It got Harry excited and he knew that he'd gotten a taste of what his life could be like and there was no going back for him. All or nothing. After attempting to dance and thankfully getting through the experience without being put out or falling over himself like he usually tended to, Harry headed towards the boys' toilets because he'd desperately needed to wee for hours and had been holding it in, too afraid he'd miss something important. He rushed into the bathroom and unbuttoned his jeans, too preoccupied with not wetting himself to notice that someone else had came in. Harry only looked up once he had started to pee, to see the person standing next to him. He didn't think that it was normal to notice how long someone eyelashes were or how perfect their bone structure was when you had your dick out. Or at least, when you were using said dick to take a piss. This boy was so attractive that Harry forgot that he was currently peeing and turned towards the other boy slightly. Biggest fucking mistake made in the history of mankind, that. He didn't realise what would happen until it did and when Harry accidentally splashed some pee on the other guys foot, he honest to God wanted to die on the spot. Harry's whole world slowed down, his face heated up so badly that Harry was afraid that his face had started to melt off. His brain to mouth filter must have malfunctioned because as Harry looked to the other boy in mortification and was met with a mixture of amusement and disgust on the other boy's face, all he could think to say was, "Oops?" Eloquent, Harry.

The last reaction he would have ever thought someone who just got peed on would have, was to smile but the beautiful creature beside him grinned at Harry. Then he replied, "Hi." And proceeded to grace Harry with another dazzling smile. Harry was in love. It occurred to him that he still had his dick out and so did the other boy so he blushed even more if that was possible and hurried to fix himself and to also not get a boner in the bathroom because it was already weird enough, thanks. Harry was still mortified and was hoping to make a quick get away after washing his hands but he was stopped by a hand to his waist when he turned to make his great escape out the door. "Do you pee on all the boys you meet, or am I just special?" Harry was pretty sure he swooned, and there were love hearts floating around his head.

"I-I'm sorry? I don't normally pee on strangers."

"So, I am special then?" Harry blushed again, fuck, his face was on fire.

"Um. I guess. I don't do this usually, obviously. So. I didn't mean to, for the record, it was a little disgusting so I'm genuinely sorry about the, uh, incident." The boy just smiled patiently at Harry as he apologised and thank God didn't seem disgusted by him or look like he was mad that his shoe had gotten pissed on. Harry reckoned most people would have had a problem with it.

"No worries, mate, honestly. I don't usually like getting peed on but I'd much rather have your pee than his pee." He pointed to a man who had just came out of one of the stalls and was heading out the door, who shot the two of them a strange look as he left. "So, like I said, no worries. I'm Louis." Louis held out his hand for Harry to shake, which he did. He took note of how much smaller Louis' hand was than his and his stomach fluttered.

"Harry. Harry Styles." Louis smiled like this was the best news he could have received.

"Proper popstar name you have there, Harry Styles. You're one to watch."

"Uh, thanks?"

"Is that a question, Curley? Also can I ask you a question?" He didn't wait for Harry to answer and continued,"Can I have your autograph?"

While Harry could confirm that it had been one of the strangest encounters of his life, he was caught completely off guard by this. He'd only known the boy for five minutes and he could already sense that he was a force to be reckoned with, an unpredictable source of nature. "My autograph?" Louis nodded. "Uh, sure. Can I ask why?" Louis sighed like Harry was missing the whole point, which he was, he had been in a constant state of confusion and surprise since the beginning of the conversation.

"Why, Curley. Why? I can tell you're going to be famous. Simple as that. You've got the name, you've got the curls, you'll get the girls. And I, Louis Tomlinson, will have your autograph and I'll be the very first person to have it. If I get desperate enough in the future, I can sell it on eBay for millions." He flashed Harry yet another devilish grin and that was it, his heart belonged to this boy who he'd met in the bathroom and Harry thought was the actual sun.

"You think I'll be famous?"

"Curls get the girls, Harry," he said and handed him a pen and piece of toilet paper with a smile. Harry grinned madly at him, he hoped he hadn't scared him, Harry could look a bit manic when he smiled especially wide, accepted the paper and signed his name on it. Louis took it from him am examined it, nodded in what Harry hoped was approval. "Thanks, Curley. Don't forget me when you're living the life of luxury." Harry barked out a laugh and was awarded another smile from Louis, this one soft and amused. He walked out the door, Harry smiling after him and trying not to fantasise about how good his arse looked.

"Bye, Louis." With that, he was gone, like a hurricane he had swept through and left Harry dazed and not knowing what to do with himself. That was the third time Harry had fell in love and he cursed himself because he didn't even ask Louis for his number. He hoped he would see him around, and swore to himself that he'd ask him for his number or email or something. Harry knew he wouldn't though, didn't have the courage. Louis was someone he had the privilege to meet but even he knew he didn't have the guts to talk to him again, he didn't even know if Louis liked boys. He wouldn't take the risk. Standing in front of the judges and realising that they held your fate in your hands, that they could change the course of your life with one, tiny decision, was not a feeling Harry appreciated or particularity enjoyed. He stood on the stage with the rest of the boys who would possibly get through to Judges' Houses and faced the four people who had the power to decide his future. Harry was so fucking nervous that he started chewing at the skin around his fingernails, his heart was beating rapidly and he was worried he was going to faint and the whole thing would he filmed for the whole United Kingdom to see. The cameras surrounding him, the ones that he hasn't paid any mind to for the past few days, that hadn't bothered him until now, increased his nerves. He looked down the line of boys who were in the same position as him, some looked as nervous as Harry felt, some looked like they were going to he sick and others seemed a little more confident, hopeful that they had a chance. Harry also saw the hope leave their eyes when they didn't get through and felt the same dread they probably felt, when his name wasn't called either. He didn't even realise he was crying until he got off the stage and was met with Dermot, asking him if he was ok, how he felt about not getting through. Harry couldn't bring himself to talk, really. Just tried to avoid the cameras and stop himself crying, he was an unattractive crier, his eyes got all read and puffy and his cheeks were probably blotchy and year stained. Harry wanted nothing more than to just leave, have some privacy, cry a bit about the unfairness of it all with his mum. The producers kept the contestants around a bit longer, telling everyone to wait until they were allowed to leave. Harry was tired, upset and ultimately just drained. He saw Louis across the room from him, looking defeated, he was talking on the phone to someone and Harry considered going up to him, asking for his number. He rejected the idea just as quickly, he wouldn't want to interrupt him, especially when he must have been feeling as lost as Harry was. They waited for ten minutes or so, a which point a lot of the contestants were starting to get more than a little pissed off that they weren't allowed to leave. Some of them were already beginning to walk away, obviously having had enough of waiting around when someone called everyone remaining to attention. The cameras were still on which annoyed Harry to no end because was there no bloody privacy around here? All the contestants from the boys and girls were told to stand in a group and Harry ended up best the front, looking at the producers and cameramen, willing them to get a move on because Harry just wanted to go home. Then they started calling names. How sick, Harry thought, they just want to film us crying. Four girls were called and then the producers called a name, "Liam Payne." Harry recognised Liam, he was the boy who has auditioned a few years back, he'd seen him around the past week, always looking focused and engrossed in the tasks they were set.

"Niall Horan." Harry heard an intake of breath and looked to his right where he could see a blonde, who looked like he'd been crying as well. Harry had seen him skipping around the past few days, always had a guitar in his hand and a group of being surrounding him.

"Harry Styles." Harry's heart rate did a summersault in is chest and he covered his face with his hands, trying not to cry more. He knew he probably looked like a stupid kid, crying his eyes out over a show, but he felt dejected and he didn't want to be humiliated more by having to he asked questions about how upset he was about not achieving what he had came there for.

"Zayn Malik." That was the boy who had refused to dance, Harry didn't know him either, much like the other two boys, other than catching glimpses of him while at Boot Camp.

"Louis Tomlinson." That made Harry look up, he saw Louis' frown disappear a little into something that looked more hopeful. Harry still didn't feel hopeful, still thought that they were being exploited for a TV show but his spirits lifted a little when Louis' gaze met his and he smiled at Harry. They were guided backstage again and all the other contestants were told that they could go home, he wished he was following them. Someone herded the four girls to one side of the stage and Harry and the four boys were sent to the other side. They were told to stay where they were until someone told them otherwise and then they were alone. You could have felt the tension in the air, they were all anxious, looking around to try and figure out what they were doing and what they were wanted for.

Finally, after give minutes of excruciating silence, the blonde, Niall, spoke up, "What do ye think they want us for?" The other boys looked at him helplessly, Louis shrugged and Liam seemed to think about how to answer.

Harry was still sniffling, trying to calm down a little but he decided to answer Niall despite his voice being shaky. "Probably want to make a bit of good Tv, five boys, broken dreams, trying to make us cry."

Niall snorted at this. "Don't think they need to try and make you cry, mate." He pointed out and Harry scowled at him. Niall put his hands up in a peace gesture and Harry went back to staring at the ground and trying to keep his emotions at bay.

"What if they put us in a band?" Liam asked. It was possible, Harry hadn't really considered a job in a band, had entered the show for a solo career but if the offer was open, he'd give it a try. Better to be in a band than to not be doing anything at all. Liam didn't seem to share his views, when he mentioned the idea, he seemed hopeful but Harry detected a little bit of resentment as well. He guessed Liam wasn't too fond of the idea of sharing the spotlight. It looked like Niall was about to answer but just then a man walked up to them and told them to walk onto the stage. They were directed so that they were standing on the far right of the stage and the four girls were on the left. The judges were still there, studying both groups. For the first time since his name was called, Harry dared to hope. Had Liam been right? Were they being put into a band? The judges started talking, saying things like, "talented individuals." or "too good to let go." Harry hoped, he could feel the other boys next to him tensing up, anticipating what the judges would say next and when the moment came, when they were told they could progress to Judges' Houses as a group, Harry felt his face break into a smile and he wasn't sure what he, drop to the ground, jump in the air, he didn't know, he was defying gravity and soaring through the sky, he had never felt so elated. Harry came down from his short high to see Louis looking at him, he looked stunning, his eyes shining and a smile splitting his face. Harry knew Louis was going to hug him before he started forward and when he got an armful of Louis, he was ready and held on tight as he wrapped his legs around Harry. When they left the stage, Harry still had Louis I'm his arms, who was laughing and whooping and the other boys followed, bouncing with excitement.

"Guess, we'll be seeing more of each other then, Curley."

"I guess so," Harry had replied before Niall knocked into him and put his arm round Harry, rambling about what they should wear and how he liked Louis' shoes. Harry just smiled through it all and was content to think about how falling in love in a bathroom wasn't such a bad idea after all. The expression was, third time lucky. Harry thinks the third time he fell in love was unlucky because this time it was really fucking painful. He had thought he was in love the first two times and sure he felt something but it wasn't like how he felt for Louis. The first time he'll admit was infatuation and he had been a little bit of a creep who stared at a random guy in the hallway. The second time, he had know the boy for two weeks, so possibly a strong crush. Louis Tomlinson was so much more than everything. Harry had been throwing the term 'love' around for years but he hadn't truly known what it was to love someone until he met Louis. Louis didn't made things easier on Harry. He was very touchy-feely, which Harry normally loved because he was affectionate, Louis played with his hair and held onto his wrist and hugged and tickled Harry. Harry enjoyed it honestly he felt like he was blushing more times than he wasn't when he was around Louis but it just made it harder not to fall for Louis more. The problem was that they were best friends, cliche as fucking hell that it was, Harry had fallen in love with his new best friend. The universe was laughing at Harry, probably planned the whole thing out, was sitting up somewhere in their cosmic place eating popcorn and having a nice laugh with fate about how doomed Harry was. Also, Louis was fucking gorgeous. Like. Beautiful. He flirted with Harry too, and foolishly he had thought that this meant that Louis liked him. He had to find out from Zayn that Louis had a girlfriend, Hannah. That was around the time that Harry realised Louis was just a cheeky and affectionate person, yeah maybe he paid a little more attention to Harry but they had clicked and it had been a done deal from the start that they would be louis and harry. Just because they were considered on half of a whole didn't mean it was romantic in any way. It tortured Harry to no end. He had even thought at one point that Louis had been leaning in to kiss him. All the boys had stayed in Harry's dad's bungalow for a few days. They had wanted to bond, become friends before colleagues and all that, they also needed to practise some songs, see if they worked well as a band. It had been after a long day of trading stories, playing football, not that Harry had contributed much to the football part and messing around with Niall's guitar. Harry and Louis were on the trampoline jumping up and down and pushing at each other, Louis was doing some sort of ninja impression that gave Harry such an awful fit of giggles that he didn't notice when Louis pounced on him. They both tumbled down, their limbs tangled, their cheeks flushed and breathless from laughing.

"Not fair, you tosser." Harry giggled and tried to push Louis off him. Louis just grinned wickedly at Harry and lunged for Harry's neck where he was most ticklish. Harry squealed and tried to block Louis by tickling him in the side which ended with Louis flush against Harrys chest. They were so close that he could have counted all of Louis' eyelashes and he could feel his breath on his face, which smelled like the beer they had earlier. Harry wondered what Louis would taste like. For a split second Louis' eyes seemed to flicker to Harry's lips and unless Harry was mistaken he started to subconsciously lean closer to him.

"Lads! Band meeting! Liam wants to talk about harmonising or some shite!" Harry wanted to strangle Niall. The Irish boy's voice had snapped Louis out of whatever daze he had been in and he scrambled to get off Harry. He offered Harry his hand and helped him up and that had been that. The moment was broken. Throughout the live shows Louis was the biggest pain in the ass. And Harry didn't mean literally, if it was up to Harry, Louis could be a pain in his ass whenever he wanted. No, Louis wouldn't leave him alone. He was constantly teasing Harry, touching Harry, talking about Harry and generally being in close proximity of Harry and it was driving him insane. Literally insane. Harry hadn't done anything to stop him, if he was being honest. He was just as clingy and most of the time he was either staring at Louis or moping because someone had told him all he did was stare at Louis and that reminded him that he wasn't supposed to be pining after him. Harry thought that when he fell in love, like properly he's the one, soulmate type love that it would be easy sailing from there. Harry was pretty sure that was how he felt about Louis, he was also pretty sure Louis saw him as his cute little sixteen year old bestie. Not boyfriend material.

Harry had nearly fainted when in one of the video diaries Louis had exclaimed, "And I'd marry you, Harry." He looked at Louis and when he watched it back he looked pretty calm but he had actually felt like throwing up on himself. He went through too many emotions in three seconds, surprise, hope, love, excitement. Then Louis had paused and said, "because it rhymes." And Harry's dreams of marriage, ten babies, two dozen cats and a house in the country had flown out the window. Of course Louis had only said it to be witty, that was Louis, always putting on a show. Harry liked Louis best when he wasn't putting on a show, when they were cuddled together in Harry's bunk at the X-Factor house and they talked until two in the morning. Quite and open Louis was his favourite, when he was being flamboyant and prancing around making a mess, he was still Louis when he was cuddle up with Harry like that, just more subdued. It was like he could let everything else melt away with Harry and show him the more private bits of himself. The next morning he would be back to hiding Liam's hair straighteners and throwing food at Niall and calling Zayn names, but that was fine, Harry loved him all the time. When they lost the X-Factor Harry was gutted. He couldn't see past how said he was, could only think we lost, we lost, we lost, we failed, this is it, over. Louis had found him backstage after they'd been sent off on the verge of a panic attack. He held Harry and stroked his hair and whispered reassurances in Harry's ears. He calmed down but he was still crying because if they weren't a band anymore how would he see Louis? If the band didn't make it, and how could they without winning they came third, shit not good enough, he might never see Louis again.

"Lou?" he croaked out and looked up at the older boy.

"Yeah, Hazza?" At some point Louis had slid down the wall were they had been leaning and had lowered Harry down with them so that they were huddle in a corner, just holding each other.

"What happens after this? I mean, if we don't make it as a band, like. What about me and you? And -and the other boys of course but. What happens? Will we still. You know, keep in touch? I-," Louis stopped him by shushing him and nuzzling his nose into Harry's hair. He hadn't realised he was shaking until Louis took his hands into his own and stilled them.

"We'll be fine, yeah? We're gonna stick as a band. Simon already said if we didn't win he'd still give us a contract. We'll be great, we will. We've all talked about it, we'll move to London, work our arses off to make this happen. We'll get an apartment, me and you." Harry was struggling to breathe.

"Yeah?" He asked.

Louis smiled fondly at him, blue eyes crinkling at the corners and sweat clinging to his forehead. "Yeah. Can't very well live on my own can I, Curley? Can't survive without you, who'd pick up my dirty socks?" Harry laughed wetly and brushed a few stray tears away. They'd be fine. Two months later all the boys were living in the same building and all their flats were close together, right down the hall even. They were signed with Syco, were going to release a single and an album and had The X-Factor Tour to look forward to and all that was fine, fantastic even. Harry was living in London with his four bandmates and they were some of the best friends he'd ever had, all they had worked for was coming true. The only aspect of his new life that Harry didn't enjoy was living with Louis. If he had thought it was painful to be in love with Louis when he was constantly around during The X-Factor, it was nothing compared to living with him. Seeing what Louis looked like in the mornings, wearing glasses and his hair all over the place was torture. He knew how Louis took his tea, what his shampoo smelled like and what he looked like after he came out of a shower. They had movie marathons, in each other's rooms, snuggle up in bed with no concept of personal space. Harry was in his own personally hell. They acted like a couple, Harry could honestly picture himself with Louis for the rest of his life yet they weren't a couple. Their friendship was based on no personal space and harmless flirting, it was just them. It frustrated Harry because it never went anywhere, they didn't progress. To make matters worse, Louis had ended things with Hannah so he was completely single. When he had a girlfriend, Harry had more control, he could stop himself from thinking about Louis because he could tell himself he had a girlfriend and that he shouldn't be fantasising about snogging the face of someone who was off limits. With Hannah out of the picture that left Louis single and Harry single but it also left Louis straight and Harry gay. Harry couldn't make a move on his friend who had expressed no interest in boys ever, or any interest in Harry either. So he suffered in silence. "Haz! Harry! Hazza! Harold! Curley! Servant!" He could hear Louis calling him from the living room but he didn't feel in the mood for whatever antics he wanted to get up to today. Louis did that a lot, exploited how whipped Harry was by asking him to do things for him or convincing him to take part in whatever ridiculous scheme Louis could cook up. Louis just thought Harry was too helpful, the other boys just smiled knowingly at him and teased him for, as Niall put it, "Dick over tits in love with him." Harry would just mumble some half hearted excuse and go see what Louis wanted. It was true anyway, he was gone for the older boy. It wasn't good for his health.

"What, Louis?" He called. He heard a faint response from the living room but he couldn't hear what he was saying. He grudgingly got up and went to see what Louis wanted him for. The scene he was met with should not have surprised him, he had been living with Louis for a while now and had been constantly at his side in the contestant's house. He was surprised anyway. Louis had pushed all of the furniture away so that it was against the wall and was currently sliding along the wooden floor in nothing but his socks and boxers. Nineteen years old. The teen must have been silent because Louis honestly acted like a nine year old most of the time. Harry was living with a child.

"I am living with a child." He told Louis. The boys just giggle and slid over to Harry, nearly knocking him over with the force of their collision.

"You love it." Harry didn't respond, he wasn't one to lie. Louis convinced Harry to strip down to his boxers and shorts as well, Harry had hesitated and then done as he was asked. He wouldn't deny Louis anything when he pouted at him, or even when he didn't pout to be honest. The floor was really slippery and Harry was giggling like mad as Louis swung him around and pushed him across the floor. One thing about being with Louis, was that he was never bored and was always laughing. Shit, Harry was in love with a giant child. It was just as he thought this that Louis slid over to him from the opposite side of the room and Harry met him half way. They fell into each other, Louis on top of Harry and he didn't know how it happened, how the events had led up to that moment but when Louis landed on Harry their mouths met, for a second. It was a brush of lips, the tiniest bit of contact but it made Harry's whole body go rigid and his face to go on fire. Louis froze as well and looked at Harry with wide eyes. They were both panting, from exhaustion or nerves or excitement, he didn't know but then Louis seemed to register what had happened and shook his head. This was it, Louis was going to punch Harry and stop talking to him and then the band was going to break up and Harry's life would be over. That was when Harry was surprised for the second time that day. Louis looked down at him and made a silent decision, he shrugged and slowly, so slowly, leaned down to capture Harry's lips between his own. Harry's breath caught in his throat and he didn't, couldn't move. Louis kissed him softly, sweetly and it was all Harry had wanted since he met him and he couldn't move. Louis pulled away and Harry saw him blush for the first time in his life, he hadn't even known Louis was capable of blushing.

"Sorry. Um. I shouldn't have-I don't." Louis moved to get off Harry and finally he came to his senses and grabbed Louis' hand. Louis glanced towards their intertwined hands and gave Harry a timid, hopeful smile. Harry thought they needed to talk about some things, obviously Louis wasn't as straight or as uninterested in Harry as he had previously though. Right now though, he just wanted to kiss Louis again.

"Louis," he said and reached up to touch Louis' lip with his thumb. Louis opened his mouth and playfully bit at it. Harry thought his heart was going to explode it was beating so frantically.

"Hmm." Louis hummed as he took Harry's thumb into his mouth and sucked on it. Harry was going to get hard from having his thumb in someone else's mouth, he thought that he could get hard just from looking at Louis.

"Can I kiss you?" He was nervous, he didn't know why, Louis had already kissed him. He felt as if he was on the edge of a fence, this was it, take the plunge now and risk the fall. It was like Louis had been waiting for him to ask, he reached down and laced his fingers through Harry's hair.

"Fuck, yes, of course." With that Harry surged up and kissed him. He wouldn't go as far as to say that he saw fireworks or that he heard angels singing in the distance but it was close. Louis tasted like toothpaste and apple juice and Harry felt like he couldn't get enough of it. Louis nipped at his bottom lip, a request to deepen the kiss. Harry let him, parting his lips and letting Louis explore his mouth with his tongue. He tugged at Harry's hair, he had always loved Louis playing with his hair, tugging at his curls and running his hands through it, this was completely different. He whined into Louis' mouth and he tugged experimentally again to get a reaction out of Harry. He arched up and his hips met Louis' which caused a sharp intake of breath from both of them. Then Louis grinned at him and pushed his hips down into Harry's. He had forgotten that they were only wearing boxers but now he was fully aware that Louis and himself were both hard. Louis continued to grind his hips into Harry's, giving him enough friction on his cock to feel like he could come from just this. He circled his own hips, trying to meet Louis and find a rhythm that would help him reach his orgasm. Louis' lips worked their war down Harry's chest, biting at the exposed skin and sucking small bruises as he went down. Louis took one of Harry's nipples into his mouth and sucked and Harry's vision went white for a second.

"Louis, shit, oh," he panted and the only response he got was Louis swirling his tongue around his nipple. He wasn't complaining. Louis pulled off and sat up, looking down at Harry curiously.

"Sensitive nipples then?" He asked and Harry nodded, trying to catch his breath. "If I play with the extra two does it do anything for you?" Harry didn't understand what he meant until he realised Louis was referring to the extra nipples he had that were a recurring joke between him and the other boys. Harry laughed and immediately covered his mouth, the sound that he had emitted embarrassing and definitely not attractive. Louis didn't seem to mind, just giggled and went back to moving his hips against Harry's, effectively ending their short conversation. It didn't take much longer for Harry to feel close, the combination of Louis' cock on his and the older boy sucking a bruise into his neck, making him want more, more, more.

"Lou," he croaked. God, his voice was wrecked, he was dizzy with want. "I'm close." Louis moved back so that Harry was looking into his face and he could feel the familiar sensation in his stomach creeping up. Louis was flushed down to his chest, his pupils were blown and his hair was sticking up all over the place. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have the privilege to see him like this, he was so gorgeous that Harry was having a hard time believing that he was actually real. Louis circled his hips faster, with more intent this time but they both soon grew sloppy, their movements becoming more frantic. They were breathing into each other's mouths, not really kissing and with a tug on his hair, Harry came, stuttering out curses and Louis' name.

"Christ, you're beautiful," he heard Louis say and not long after he followed Harry, coming and collapsing on top of him as he rode out his high. Harry didn't know how long they lay there but eventually he started giggling and then Louis joined him until they were just a mess of two boys laughing on the floor with sticky boxers. After Harry had calmed down he turned poked Louis until he looked up at him, his eyes full of adoration.

"Louis," he said.

"Yes, Harry?"

"We still have our socks on." That set them off again, Harry laughed until his stomach hurt and he couldn't quite fathom that this was what his life had came to. He had just had his first kiss with a boy he met in a bathroom and then came in his boxers on the floor of their living room, all because Louis had wanted to slide around the room in his socks. As love stories go, he didn't think it was half bad.

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first piece of writing I have ever posted. Wow. I hope it isn't awful.  
> Any comments or kudos would be very much appreciated!  
> Also I am severesarcasm on tumblr if anyone wants to come talk to me!


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